Device for moving invalids and the like



May 29, 1956 G. E. MARSH DEVICE EOE MOVING INVALIDS AND THE LIKE FiledDeo. 29, 1952 INVENTOR. George E Marsh FIG l United States Patent Cnevica non MovrNG nsvALms AND THE LIKE George E. Marsh, 1Fort Collins,Colo., assigner to Robert M. Morrell, Fort Collins, Colo.

Appiication December 29, 1952, Serial No. 328,459

9 Claims. (Cl. 155-28) This invention relates to` devices for movinginvalids and the like, such as from or to a bed, chair, toilet or thelike.

In general, it is dii-heult' for invalids who have insufieient use ofthe legs to permit them to walk unaided, or who have practically no useof thev legs, to move from and.l to a bed, a chair, a toilet orV thelike. It is an undue burden on a person taking'care of the invalid tolift the invalid bodily and carry the invalid to various places, andeven a. wheel chair involves considerable lifting of the patient, whichis. extremely tiring toV or sometimes beyond the strength of the person`taking care of the patient. Thus, to lift an invalid from' a bedY to awheel chair. requires considerable strength and then to transfer-thepatient from a wheel chair'to a toilet, for instance, again involves astrength-taxing, lifting operation.

Among the objects of the present invention are to provide an invalidrmoving device by which an invalid having` a little or no use of the legsmay betransferred'from or to a bed, a chair, a toilet or thev likewithout requiring the person taking care of thepatient to lift thepatient; to provide such a device Which'may be'operated by even arelatively frail person; to'provide such a device bywhich the invalidmay be lifted and moved gently; to provide such a device which insures amaximum of access to a bed,l chair, toilet or the like;l to provide sucha device which permits the invalid to be raised or lowered to anydesired height necessary for placement on or removal from positions atvarious heights above floor level, such as those of a bed, a chair, atoilet or the like; to provide such a device which permits the invalidto be removed from one point to another Without danger of the devicetipping over; to provide such a device which is comparatively light inweight yet sturdy in construction;Y and to provide such a device whichmay be manufactured relatively economically.

Additional objects and the novel features of this invention will becomeapparent fromV the description which follows, taken in connection withthe accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. l is a side elevation of an invalidk moving device constructed inaccordance with this invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary view taken from the position of. line2-2 of Fig. l;

Fig, 3 is a iront elevation ofthe invalid moving device of Fig. l; and

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the same.

As illustrated in the drawing, an invalidl moving device constmcted inaccordance with this invention may comprise, in general, a base whichincludes a pair of horizontal, rearwardly diverging bars I0, a pair offront rollers or casters 11, a pair of rear rollers or castersIZ and ahorizontal foot platform 13, which may be mounted on top of the base 1).The rear casters 1.2 are mounted on the under side of the bars 140, atthe rear ends thereof, to prevent a tendency for lateral' tipping at therear, while the front casters 11 may be mounted on the under side of atransverse plate14, which has suicient length to prevent a' tendency forlateral tipping at the front. The rear casters 12 arev preferablyswiveled, while the rear casters 11 maybe xedorswiveled, as desired. Theangle of divergence between the bars 1i) isV preferably such thatV theupper portion of the device maybe moved over a toilet seat with one ofthe bars 16 on each side of the toilet, while the bars I0 are preferablydisposed suciently close to the lloor that they may be moved underneathan upholstered chair, divan, or the like.

The device of this invention also includes a support, which may includea vertical post 15 attached to the forward ends of the bars 10', whichmay be tubular, and also to the transverse plate 14, and which extendsto a convenient height, such asV four feet. The post 15, as Well as thebars 10 and` transverse plate 14 are preferably metal andY attachedtogether in a suitable manner, as by welding, while the foot platform 13is preferably wood, although it may be made of metal. Attached toeach'side of the post 15in vertically spaced relation and extendinghorizontally and laterally therefrom, are a pair of arms comprisingupper arms 16 andV lower arms 17 which may be tubular and when' made ofmetal as is preferable, may be welded'to the post 15. Also mounted onthe post 15 is a jack platform 18, additionally supported by atriangular gusset 19, one edge of which may be welded to the post 15andthe other edge to the platform 1S. In addition, a triangularreinforcing plate 2i) may be spot or fusion Weldedto the post along itscentralV axis, and theA lower edge thereof welded to transverse plate 14and angle bars`10;

In further accordance with this invention, at least one pair of parallelarms or links is provided, forming a parallelogram arrangement formoving the seat provided for the patient upwardly and downwardly whilemaintaining the seat in horizontal position. The seat for thepatienttmay be specially constructed, as in the manner descrbedlater.Preferably, there are' two pairs of parallel arms or links adapted toform a parallelogram arrangement at each side of the device. Thus, apair of upper links 22' and lower links 23 maybe pivotedv at their frontends on the outer ends of the upper arms 16 and lower arms 17,respectively. If the upper arms 16 and lower arms 17 are circular incross section and suflicient'- ly small in diameter, the arms 16 and 17themselves may form pivots for the bars 22 and 23; otherwise,y suitablepivot pins 24 and 25 may be attached to the ends of the arms 1'6 and 17.

Each set of parallel links at each side, consisting of an upper link 22and a lower link 23, is pivotally attached at its forward end, as bypivot pins 26 and 27, respectively, to the vertical or upright sectionof a right angle bar 28, whose horizontal section 29 extends rearwardlyfrom the rear end of the lower link 23. The points of pivotal connectionbetween the links 22 and 23, and the right angle bars 28, are spacedapart a distance equal to the distance between the' pivot points attheVfront ends of the links 22 and 23, so that the. links 22 and 23 willalways remain in parallel relationship during upward and downwardYmovement such as between the full and dotted positions ofY Fig. l.Aswill be observed, with the links 22 and". 23 remaining parallel, the'horizontal' section 29 of each right angle bar 28 will always remainhorizontal. At the rear, the upper links 22' may be connected togetherby an upper rod 30" and the lower links 23 by a lower rod 3l, the lowerrod 31, if desired, being a metal rod and conveniently extending.,through the angle bars 23 andthe lower links 23, to form pivotalc'olrnections between the same, while the upper rod 31 may be eithermetal' or wood-in the latter case metal. piu 26 may be mountedY in theend'sthereof. A wooden rod is less cold to the touch, and since theupper rod is often grasped by the patient, if the rod is made of metal,l

it may be covered with cloth or the like, so that it will not be cold tothe touch of the bare hand. A thrust plate 32 also extends between andis attached to the lower links 23, adjacent the forward ends thereof,the plate 32 preferably having a cut out portion 33, such as havingsubstantially the shape shown in Fig. 4, to give greater knee space tothe patient when the device is raised, such as to the dotted position ofFig. l.

For raising the lowering the links 22 and 23, a jack 35, such as ahydraulic jack having a raising and lowering adjustment valve 36 and ahandle 37 for producing the required hydraulic pressure, is mounted onplatform 18. I ack is provided with a movable head 3S, which is moved upandy down in accordance with the desired actuation of the jack, and maymerely engage the under side of the plate 32, but is preferablyconnected thereto, such as through an inverted U-bracket 39, welded orotherwise suitably attached to the under side of plate 32, and which ispivotally engaged by a slotted block 40 on jack head 38. The slot inblock 40 is preferably Sulliciently wide from front to rear thatrelative forward or rearward displacement of the U-bracket 39, duringraising or lowering of the plate 29 and associated parts, can be readilyaccommodated. Of course, other types of connections may be utilized,such as a pivotal connection between jack head 38 and plate 32 and apivotal connection between jack 35 and platform 18.

The seat for the patient is preferably specially but simply constructed,so as not only to support the patient adequately but also to permitreadier removal from or insertion beneath the patient.V Thus, the seatmay comprise two right angle plates 42 and 42', which are complementaryin shape and are provided with inwardly extending, flat flanges 43 and43', on which the patient sits, and along their upper edges withinwardly and downwardly extendingangular anges 44 and 44'. Each of thelianges 44 and 44' are adapted to at least partially encircle thehorizontal section 29 of a right angle bar 28, so that the seat platescan be slipped onto the sections 29, either from above or from the end,but will tend to remain in position. It will be observed that if thehorizontal sections 29 of the right angle bars 28 were circular incross-section, the seat plates would tend to pivot around thereon, andtherefore when the ilanges 44 and 44 are utilized the horizontalsections 29 must be rectangular or at least non-circular in crosssection.

When a patient is to be movedfrom a bed to another piace, the anges 43and 43 of the seat plates 42 and 42 may be merely slipped beneath thehips of the patient, and the device then rolled into position so thatthe horizontal sections 29 of the angle bars 28 will slide along theinside of the seat plates 42 and 42. Then, the jack 35 may be actuatedto lift the sections 29 into engagement with the anges 44 and 44. Ofcourse, the sections 29 may be positioned at such a level that they willslip directly into the anges 44 and 44' If not in sitting position, thepatient may be helped to a sitting position-which operation involvesmuch less expenditure of effort by an attendant than bodily 'lifting thepatient-and thepatient may rest his feet upon the foot platform 13, and,as is usually desired, grasp the lower rod 30 with one or both hands.Then, the jack 35 may be actuated to lift the patient off the bed,whereupon the Adevice and patient may be rolled to a chair, a toilet, orany :other desired place. If the patient is to be placed in a chair, thedevice is guided so that the base bars 10 will be moved underneath thechair, andthe seat rplates 42 and 42 (with the patient of course sittingthereon), positioned directly above the chair seat. Thereupon, the jack35 .may beactuated to lower the patient to the chair seat. The jack isconveniently operated until all of the patients weight is taken by thechair, rather than bythedevice, after which the device may be moved fromthe chair, leaving the seat plates 42 and 42 still beneath the patient.Then, the seat plates 42 and 42 may be individually removed from beneaththe patient, which is considerably more convenient for the patient thanany attempt to pull the plates directly outwardly. Thus, by merelyshifting slightly to one side, while the seat plate 42 is being removed,and then to the opposite side while the plate 42' yis being removed, theoperation may be completed with gentleness and facility. When thepatient is to be moved back to the bed, the reverse operation takesplace, i. e., the vseat plates 42 and 42 are rst inserted beneath thepatient, and then the device moved to engage the same, after which thepatient sits up or is assisted to a sitting position, then is lifted bythe jack and the device wheeled to a bed or any other desired place.When a patient is to be placed on a conventional toilet, the device ismoved so that the patient is directly above the toilet seat,.i. e., withthe base bars lll straddling the base of the toilet. Then, the patientis lowered to the toilet seat by the jack, and the horizontal sections29 of the right angle bars 28 lowered until below the angular anges 44and 44' of the seat plates. Then, the seat plates may be moved laterallyfrom beneath the patient, and the device may either be left in positionor moved away, as desired. As will be evident, this type of operation isquite convenient to use when only a small space is available for' movingthe device, and also may be used for raising or lowering the patient toor from any other position, such as on a bed or in a chair, or the like.

From the foregoing, it will be evident that the invalid moving device ofthis invention fulfills to a marked degree the requirements and objectshereinbefore set forth. A base having a minimum height permits thedevice to be moved into operative position, for raising or lowering apatient, with respect to an upholstered chair, or the like, which mayextend to a point relatively close to the iloor. Also, the divergingbase bars permit a toilet base or similar solid article to be straddled.By the use of one or more sets of parallel links, the seat for thepatient can be maintained in horizontal position, thus preventingunnecessary movement of the patient. The lateral spacing of the rearcasters, which are preferably spaced further apart than the distancebetween the parallelogram links, insures that there will be little or notendency for side tipping during the movement of the device, with thepatient thereon. The use of a fixed post, as a support, and a set ofparallelogram links at each side, adds rigidity to the device, so thatany tendency for sidewise movement of the upper portion of the device isobviated. The use of a specially constructed seat, including the angesat the upper edges which at least partially encircle a non-circularsupport therefor, and the inwardly extending anges on which the weightof the patient is placed, permits the seat plates to be removed readily,but still maintain rigidity during use, The removable seat platesfacilitate the lifting of a patient off a bed, chair, or the like, andalso the lowering of the patient thereon, since the seat plates arereadily placed under or removed from beneath the patient individually.The use of a jack to raise and lower the patient minimizes the elortrequired by the person taking care of the invalid, and permits even arelatively frail person to handle a large or heavy patient without undueelort. Y

Although a specic embodiment of this invention has been illustrated anddescribed, it will be understood that other embodiments may exist, andthat various changes may be made therein, all without departing from thespirit and scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:

l. An invalid moving device, comprising a base including a pair ofrearwardly diverging, horizontal members provided with rollers on theunderside, said base having a height normally adapted to permit the sameto be ammala moved under chairs andv the: like; a". platformf on: saidbase adjacent the forward end thereof;, an upwardly extending postattached' to said base at the forward end thereof; a pair of horizontalarmsv in vertically spaced relation extending laterally from each sideof said'post, thev uppermost arms being disposedadjacent thev top ofsaid post; a parallelogram link extending rearwardly from and pivotallyattached to the-outer end of each` of said arms; an angle bar, ofnon-circular cross-section and havinga vertical section and a rearwardlyextending horizontal section pivotally attached to the rear ends of eachpair of parallelogram links at each side, the pivotal connections beingat points adjacent the upper and lower ends of said vertical sectionsand being spaced apart the same distance as the distance between theends of said lateral arms, so that said parallelogram links will remainin parallel relation when moved upwardly and downwardly; an angular seatplate for the horizontal section of each said angle bar, each said seatplate having a ange along its upper edge adapted to extend over and atleast partly surround the said angle bar horizontal section forremovably attaching said plate to said angle bar, and each said platehaving a lower and inwardly extending, horizontal at section forsupporting a patient in sitting position; a horizontal, laterallyextending rod connecting the vertical sections of said angle bars andextending respectively between the upper and the lower pivot pointsthereof; a laterally disposed plate mounted forwardly on the lowerparallelogram bars, said plate having a centrally cutout portion at therear; a jack platform attached to said post below said lateral arms andon the rear side of said post; and a jack mounted on said jack platformand having a movable head connected with said lateral plate for movingsaid parallelogram links upwardly and downwardly.

2. An invalid moving device, comprising a base including a pair ofrearwardly diverging, horizontal tubular metal members, a transversemetal member at the front and welded to said horizontal members, androllers on the underside of said diverging horizontal members at therear and at each side of the underside of said transverse member, saidbase having a height normally adapted to permit the same to be movedunder chairs and the like; a wooden platform mounted on said baseadjacent the forward end thereof; an upwardly extending tubular metalpost mounted centrally on said transverse member; a vertical triangulargusset welded to said post and at its lower edge to said horizontal basemember; a pair of horizontal, tubular metal arms on each side of saidpost, said arms being in vertically spaced relation and extendinglaterally from and welded to said post, the uppermost arms beingdisposed adjacent the top of said post; a metal parallelogram linkextending rearwardly from and pivotally attached to the outer end ofeach of said arms; a metal angle bar of rectangular cross-section andhaving a vertical section and a rearwardly extending horizontal sectionpivotally attached to the rear ends of each pair of parallelogram linksat each side, the pivotal con nections being at points adjacent theupper and lower ends of said vertical sections and being spaced apartthe same distance as the distance between the ends of said lateral arms,so that said parallelogram links will remain in parallel relation whenmoved upwardly and downwardly; a metal angular seat plate for thehorizontal section of each said angle bar, each said seat plate having aright angle flange along its upper end adapted to extend over and atleast partly surround the said angle bar horizontal section forremovably mounting said plate on said angle bar, and each said platehaving a lower and inwardly extending, horizontal flat section forsupporting a patient in sitting position, the inner edges of said atsections being slightly spaced apart with said seat plates mounted onsaid angle bars; a horizontal, laterally extending rod connecting thevertical sections of said angle bars and extending respectively betweenthe upper and the lower pivot points thereof, thelowen said rod-beingmetal and the upper said rod beingy wood'V and providedV witlr4 metalpivot" pins for saidangle bars and`parallelogramlinks; a laterallydisposed plate mountedv forwardly onthe' lower parallelogram links,saidy plate. having a centra-l cutiout portion of dual arcuate shape: atthe rear; a horizontal metal jack platform welded to said post belowsaid lateral arms and on the rear side of said post; a vertical,triangular metal gusset welded to said post and to the underside of saidjack platform; a jack mounted on said jack platform and having a movablehead; and a pivotal connection between said lateral plate and said jackhead, for moving said parallelogram links upwardly and downwardly.

3. An invalid moving device comprising a wheeled base; a verticallyextending support mounted forwardly on said base; vertically spacedparallel links extending rearwardly from and pivoted at their front endson said support, one pair of links being pivoted in vertically spacedrelation at each side of said support; means for moving said linksupwardly and downwardly; and means for supporting a patient, mounted onand movable upwardly and downwardly with said parallel links and aportion thereof extending from the position of each said pair of linkstoward the opposite pair.

4. An invalid moving device comprising a wheeled base; a verticallyextending support mounted forwardly on said base; means mounted on saidsupport for upward and downward movement; a pair of generally horizontalbars of non-circular cross-section extending rearwardly in laterallyspaced relation from said means; and a removable seat for supporting apatient, including an angular seat plate for each bar having a verticalsection and a horizontal section, each said vertical section having aange along its upward edge adapted to extend over and at least partlysurround said bar and each said horizontal section extending inwardlytoward the other plate.

5. An invalid moving device comprising a wheeled base; a verticallyextending support mounted forwardly on said base; two pair of parallellinks extending rearwardly from and pivoted on said support at laterallyspaced points; means connecting the rear ends of each pair of parallellinks and extending rearwardly therefrom; means for moving said linksupwardly and downwardly; and seat means for supporting a patient betweensaid rear# wardly extending means and mounted on said rearwardlyextending means.

6. An invalid moving device comprising a wheeled base; a verticallyextending support mounted forwardly on said base; two pair of parallellinks extending rearwardly from and pivoted on said support at laterallyspaced points; means connecting the rear ends of each pair of parallellinks and extending rearwardly therefrom in the form of a horizontal barof non-circular crosssection; means for moving said links upwardly anddown wardly; and seat means for supporting a patient between saidrearwardly extending means and mounted on said rearwardly extendingmeans, said seat means including at each side a generally verticalsection having a llange for engaging said bar.

7. An invalid moving device, as defined in claim 6, including a rodextending between the rear ends of the corresponding opposite links ofeach said pair and pivotally connecting the rear ends of each pair' ofparallel links with said connecting means.

8. An invalid moving device comprising a wheeled base; a verticallyextending support mounted forwardly on said base; two pair of parallellinks extending rearwardly from and pivoted on said support at laterallyspaced points; thrust means extending between corresponding oppositelinks and intermediate the ends thereof; means acting between saidsupport and said thrust means for moving said links upwardly anddownwardly; means connecting the rear ends of each pair of parallellinks and extending rearwardly therefrom; and a seat supported by saidrearwardly extending means. v

'9.YAn invalid moving device as deined in claim 8, wherein saidthrustrmeans comprises a plate provided with a cut-out at the center toaccommodate the knees 5 of an invalid seated on said seat.

i 7 References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS YWilt A Oct. 2, 1906 Jenkins Aug. 17, 1920 Mayeld May 25, 1948 Drott eta1. Nov. 22, 1949 Ives Oct. 31, 1950 Valentine Aug. 28, 1951

